The sparse investment by 20th Century Fox in the fourth Apes movie, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972), may have had something to do with the decision to hire a relatively unknown young jazz musician to compose the film soundtrack. 24 year-old Tom Scott was then an in-demand session player whose father, Nathan Scott, was also a musician and TV composer, and Tom would go on to carve out a successful career in soundtrack work (including TV series' Starsky and Hutch and The Streets of San Francisco) and as a solo recording artist. His score for Conquest had, like Jerry Goldsmith's 1971 soundtrack for Escape from the Planet of the Apes, quite a contemporary feel, using many rock instruments. It stretched to include gentle easy-listening as well as harsh, aggressive pieces to accompany the scenes of rioting apes. Unfortunately, some of his cues were dropped from the final cut of the film, including his original seven-minute finale which was removed due to a revised ending. In some cases his material was replaced with stock recordings from previous Apes films. However, Scott's score is one of the more accessible soundtracks when listened to in isolation, and would inevitably secure a release on record eventually.
Film Score Monthly released a CD through their Silver Age Classics line in March 2001 combining Tom Scott's score for Conquest of the Planet of the Apes and Leonard Rosenman's score for Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973). The disc also added the theme tune from the Planet of the Apes TV series (1974) by Lalo Schifrin, which would later feature in a separate TV series soundtrack album from the Intrada label (2005). The Conquest / Battle CD was limited to 3000 copies.
Film Score Monthly CD Tracklist:
- 01 Main Title (Conquest) (04:00)
- 02 Ape Servitude (02:35)
- 03 1991 Restaurant (01:14)
- 04 Caesar Sneaks Off (01:21)
- 05 Caesar's Plan (01:14)
- 06 Subjugation Soul (01:20)
- 07 Simian Servant School (03:19)
- 08 Ape Auction / Armando Dies (03:30)
- 09 Civil Disobedience (02:25)
- 10 Caesar Speaks (01:49)
- 11 Electrocution (01:40)
- 12 The King Is Dead (01:34)
- 13 Ape Revolt Begins (05:07)
- 14 Revolution (07:11)
- 15 Main Title (Battle) (03:45) *
- 16 Teacher Teacher (01:37) *
- 17 Caesar Departs (00:54) *
- 18 March To The Dead City (04:08) *
- 19 Discovery (01:13) *
- 20 Mutants Move Out (03:49) *
- 21 Through The Binoculars (01:25) *
- 22 Ricky's Theme (02:17) *
- 23 Ape Harms Ape (01:41) *
- 24 Mutants March (00:42) *
- 25 Vigil To Mutants (03:04) *
- 26 Not A Tree Standing (02:18) *
- 27 The Battle (02:34) *
- 28 Fight Like Apes (00:58) *
- 29 Kolp Gets It (00:45) *
- 30 Ape Has Killed Ape (01:58) *
- 31 Only The Dead (01:04) *
- 32 Main Title (Television Series) (01:13) **
Total time: 73:44 (Conquest: 38:19) (* Battle for the Planet of the Apes; ** Planet of the Apes TV Series)
Credits:
- Composer/Conductor - Tom Scott (Conquest of the Planet of the Apes)
- Producer - Lukas Kendall
- Executive Producer - Nick Redman
- Associate Producer - Jeff Bond
- Digital Mastering - Dan Hersch
- Music Score Remix - Michael McDonald
External Links[]
- Conquest of the Planet of the Apes / Battle for the Planet of the Apes release information at Film Score Monthly
- Conquest of the Planet of the Apes / Battle for the Planet of the Apes release information at Discogs
- Conquest of the Planet of the Apes / Battle for the Planet of the Apes release information at Soundtrack Collector